A review of the new comedy film “Hot Pursuit”
August 1st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Don’t rush to see this movie at the cinema, but you might to catch it on DVD, streaming, or television. It tries to be different. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A review of “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”
August 1st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
The “Mission: Impossible” film franchise has now been running almost two decades and produced five movies. I’ve seen them all and reviewed the latest one here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
What do these three political campaigns have in common?
August 1st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
1) In the American race to select a Republican candidate for the presidential election next year, 69 year old Donald Trump is currently leading the field of 17 runners.
2) In the American race to select a Democratic candidate for the presidential election next year, 73 year old Bernie Sanders is drawing exceptional support even though he is running against a firm favourite in Hillary Clinton.
3) In the British race to elect a new leader of the Labour Party, 66 year old Jeremy Corbyn is currently the clear favourite.
What do these three political campaigns have in common?
- Hardly anyone expected these three candidates to make much of an impact on their respective elections.
- Each is seen as speaking with an authenticity that is a contrast to the usual cautious political language of establishment figures.
- Each is offering a more radical agenda than the other candidates in the election which appeals to a significant section of their political party.
- Many observers feel that, even if he won the current election, he could not possibly win the subsequent general election.
What do you think?
Posted in American current affairs, British current affairs | Comments (1)
My 21st short story: “More Than Lust But Less Than Love”
July 31st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
We think that the one thing we know for sure is our own lives. But maybe we don’t know it all. This is the inspiration for my short story “More Than Lust But Less Than Love”. You can read it here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
A review of the new movie “Southpaw”
July 30th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Jake Gyllenhaal makes this movie and confirms his status as a major star. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A review of the novel “Before I Go To Sleep”
July 29th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I saw the film adaptation and found it intriguing and so I’ve now read the novel which is a real page-turner. You can read my review here.
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A review of the film “The Hundred-Foot Journey”
July 29th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
If the only movies you enjoy are action-packed, stunt-filled blockbusters, look away now. If on the other hand, you are open to a quiet and humorous look at rivalry between French and Indian eating establishments, this is a film worth watching on television. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
When President Barack Obama completes his second term, what will he do with the rest of his life?
July 28th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Barack Obama will step down from the US presidency in January 2017. At that point, he still only be 55. So what is going to do?
I suspect – and hope – that he eschew the opportunities to make lots of money from private sector appointments and that instead he will return to being an academic. But I have a dream …
Hillary Clinton becomes the next presidency and, during her term of office, has the opportunity to appoint a judge to the Supreme Court. She appoints Obama. Remember where you heard it first …
Is this possible, you ask? There are no formal qualifications for membership of the Supreme Court, but Obama has all the legal knowledge necessary for the post. And there is a little-known precedent …
William Howard Taft (1857-1930) was the 27th President of the United States (1909-1913) and later the 10th Chief Justice of the United States (1921-1930). He is the only person to have served in both of these offices.
You can read more about William Howard Taft here.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Why is opinion polling becoming harder and less reliable?
July 27th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
All the pollsters failed to forecast accurately the result of the British General Election in May 2015. We are still awaiting the outcome of an inquiry by the British Polling Council to determine what went wrong and how it can be fixed.
Most of my work as a consumer advocate involves working with regulators and companies who are constantly surveying the views of customers, consumers, users, citizens (the terminology varies from sector to sector and survey to survey). The mantra of all government departments and local authorities is that there should be more consumer and citizen engagement.
But if more and more polling is being done of ever busier people in a changing context of technology and life style, how reliable are these polls and surveys? This important question is discussion in this short article.
Posted in Consumer matters, Miscellaneous, Social policy | Comments (1)
John F Kennedy – the ‘what if?’ American president
July 26th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Last summer, I was at the City Lit in London to attend a course on post-war American presidents. I wrote blog postings on each of the presidents we discussed:
- Lyndon B Johnson – my blog posting here
- Richard M Nixon – my blog posting here
- Gerald Ford – my blog posting here
- Jimmy Carter – my blog posting here
- Ronald Reagan – my blog posting here
- George H W Bush – my blog posting here
- Bill Clinton – my blog posting here
This week, I was back at the City Lit for a lecture on a president that I missed in last year’s course: the one before Johnson, the one who was assassinated in office, the charismatic John F Kennedy. The lecture was given by Mark Malcomson who is in fact the college’s principal. He is incredibly knowledgeable about American politics and a very fluent presenter.
JFK was the third of nine children – the older two died in aircraft incidents – and he suffered from ill-health all his life (especially back problems) so, in some respects, he was a very unlikely president. In 1946, he was elected to the House of Representatives as a Democrat in South Boston in a year when there was a Republican landslide nationally. Similarly, in 1952, he was elected to the Senate for Massachusetts in spite of another Republication landslide nationally. His service in Congress was undistinguished.
But JFK’s election as president in 1960 was truly historic. At the age of 43, he was the youngest elected president in US history ((Teddy Roosevelt was a year younger when became president following an assassination). As a Catholic, he was the first (and so far the only) non-Protestant to become president. His victory was achieved by a mere 0.3% of the popular vote (although he had a easy majority in the Electoral College).
JFK’s presidency started disastrously just three months into his term with the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion of Castro’s Cuba, but Kennedy accepted responsibility for the operation planned by the previous administration. The Cuban missile crisis of October 1962 – the ‘Thirteen Days’ – was his finest moment, but his speech in Berlin (following the construction of the wall) in June 1963 further enhanced his reputation. Yet he did little to advance the civil rights agenda and managed no significant legislative achievements.
The assassination of John Kennedy in Dallas on 22 November 1963 is seared on the memory of just about everyone alive at the time ( I was 15 and remember it well). He would certainly have won the presidential election of 1964, so inevitably his death has constantly invited speculation of what might have happened had he not been assassinated.
Our lecturer Mark Malcomson concluded his presentation by running through some of the possible scenarios. Johnson only became president because of JFK’s death; Nixon became president because Johnson did not run for a second term; Ford only became president because of Nixon’s resignation … so, had JFK lived, subsequent presidencies would probably have been very different. One fanciful scenario sees John Kennedy serving two terms, followed Robert Kennedy doing his two terms, and then Ted Kennedy winning his two terms to make 24 years of Kennedys in the White House.
On the basis of less fanciful speculation, we might have seen no substantial increase in US involvement in Vietnam and a de-escalation of the Cold War. On the other hand, we might have seen no real progress on the civil rights front and certainly no Great Society (Johnson’s initiative) which would probably have led to earlier and worse violence from the black communities.
If JFK had continued in office for another five years, would the media have exposed his serious ill-health and/or his rampant adultery? And, even if they had not, would Addison’s disease have killed him in office?
You can read more about John Kennedy here.
Posted in Environment, History | Comments (1)